Observation on reef fishes in the coastal waters off some Iranian Islands in the Persian Gulf

Abstract

A number of reef fish species are reported following visual assessment in the shallow water off the coasts of ten Iranian Islands in the Persian Gulf between 1994 and 1996. Of the major groups of taxa encountered, Pomacanthus maculosus (Pomacanthidae) and Acanthurus sohal (Acanthuridae) were the most widely distributed species. However, the most abundant species belonged to Lutjanidae, followed by Scaridae. The fishes of artificial structures were dominated mostly by Abudefduf saxatilis. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) applied to the species matrix revealed three groups of stations (islands): two groups of islands which lay close to each other and one group of islands which were relatively far apart. The feeding habits of reef fishes are described.